Neoplatonists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of philosophers following the teachings of Plotinus, focusing on the metaphysical interpretation of reality and the relationship between the one, the intellect, and the soul
2. Thinkers who are influenced by Neoplatonism, emphasizing a spiritual understanding of existence and the unity of being within a hierarchical framework
3. Followers of a philosophical movement stemming from ancient Plato's ideas, advocating for the transcendence of the material world and the pursuit of the divine through intellect and reason

Etymology: "Neoplatonists" is the plural of "Neoplatonist," a word built from the prefix "neo-," meaning "new," and "Platonist," a follower of Plato. Together they name a school of thinkers who revived and reshaped Plato's ideas in the centuries after him, and the label was applied to them as a group rather than adopted by them. The founder of the movement was Plotinus, who taught in Rome in the third century CE. Plotinus and his successors believed that all reality flows from a single supreme principle, "the One," through an emanation that passes first into "Intellect" and then into "Soul," which in turn governs the material world. The word's first element therefore marks a real change: these thinkers presented their doctrines as a development of Plato's, even where they went well beyond him.